In Focus: Turtle wranglers

The minute I saw the advertisement for the St. Charles Park District Turtle Wrangler Training program, I knew I wanted to photograph participants.

The only problem was that I would have to wait until it was sunny and warm enough for the turtles to be outdoors.

The district now has dozens of turtle wranglers registered to take their turtles out for a moment in the sun, and Tuesday – with temperatures reaching the low 90s – was a day for wrangling.

Pam Otto, manager of nature programs and interpretive services at the St. Charles Park District – and a columnist for the Kane County Chronicle – called me Tuesday afternoon to let me know that three trained wranglers, Azul Canon, 8, Sam Tomka, 8, and Vivian Johnsen, 9, were in fact wrangling.

The program also trained the young animal lovers to feed fish, clean the rabbit’s cage and wrangle the resident lizard.